Queen Elizabeth Marks Prince Philip's 100th Birthday By Planting A Newly-Bred 'Duke Of Edinburgh Rose'

Jun 10, 2021

The passing of the Duke of Edinburgh on April 9, 2021, has left members of the royal family as well as ardent supporters of the British monarchy in grief. The accomplished and celebrated consort to Queen Elizabeth II will always remain one of the most endearing members of the royal family. 

Prince Philip lived an incredibly full life until he died at the age of 99 earlier this year. Not only was his life an extraordinary one, but his marriage was too — Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip celebrated 73 years of marriage together, officially making theirs the longest royal marriage on record. Always by each other’s side, the couple endured a lot in their over seven-decade-long relationship.

On top of serving as the queen’s consort for over 70 years, Prince Philip was known to be Her Majesty’s rock, as well as a guiding light for the entire royal family. She spoke of this on more than one occasion, while Prince William and Prince Harry also spoke of their grandfather’s fondness. In fact, it was Prince Philip who persuaded William and Harry to walk behind their mother’s coffin at her funeral.

Today marks what would have been Prince Philip’s 100th birthday. In honor of his centennial, President of the Royal Horticultural Society, Keith Weed, has gifted Queen Elizabeth a ‘Duke of Edinburgh Rose.’ Although the queen received the rose technically last week, the plant holds extra significance today. The rose was planted at Windsor Castle for the monarch to see and honor her beloved husband.

Read on the learn more about the rose and what Mr. Weed had to say as he gifted it to the queen.

Although he is a fundamental part of the British royal family, Prince Philip was born overseas in Corfu, Greece, the son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark. When he was a young child Prince Philip was forced into exile with his family. In order to marry Queen Elizabeth, he renounced his Greek and Danish titles and took on his mother’s maiden name of Mountbatten, according to Biography.

Despite being born overseas, Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth are actually distant cousins. In fact, most royal couples are related somewhere in their family history in order to maintain the bloodline. Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth are third cousins, as they are both great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, reports Reader’s Digest.

How the royal couple met is also a testament to their enduring love. Unlike many royal marriages that are arranged matches, their marriage was based entirely on love. According to Reader’s Digest, Elizabeth and Philip first met at the wedding of Philip’s cousin in 1934, when she was 8 and Philip was 13. They met again when she was 13 and Philip was 18, and the young Elizabeth found him to be very attractive indeed.

It was around this time that Philip was active in the Royal Navy. During World War II, he was deployed overseas, but he and Elizabeth regularly exchanged letters during this time. He returned to England in 1946 and proposed, and she said yes. However, due to royal family rules, they had to hide their engagement for several months until Elizabeth turned 21.

Now in honor of what would have been Philip’s 100th birthday, Royal Horticultural Society President Keith Weed has gifted the queen a rose as a memorial to her late husband. According to USA Today, the deep pink rose with white stripes was newly bred by Harkness Roses after Philip’s death on April 9, 2021. 

According to Daily Mail, Weed had a few words to say about the significance of the rose. He told the queen:

“It’s a rose named the Duke of Edinburgh Rose to mark his centenary and it’s a commemorative rose for all the marvelous things that he did over his lifetime and for everyone to remember so much that he did.”

Weed joked that the flower had not quite bloomed yet as he gave it to the queen.

“Right now with a cold Spring and nature being a bit behind it doesn’t look so lovely but that’s what it will look like,” he said as he pointed to a picture of the rose.

Windsor’s head gardener reportedly planted the rose at Windsor Castle for the queen to enjoy. The place is significant because Prince Philip refurbished the flower beds at Windsor Castle and commissioned a bronze lotus fountain that was featured at the center of the garden plot.

The royal couple was also photographed in the same garden just a year ago to mark Philip’s 99th birthday. 

The special Duke of Edinburgh roses can be found for purchase on the Harkness Roses website. According to the website, for every rose sold, the company “will donate £2.50 to The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Living Legacy Fund.”

What do you think about this tribute to Prince Philip for what would have been his 100th birthday? Isn’t the rose beautiful? Let us know your thoughts, and be sure to pass this on to your loved ones.